Vainglorious Waters
by SirAngelo
Summary: He had called her a "back-up". Now, it seems she's become the prime candidate. A "What If" story. One-Shot. Aqua/Ven. BBS Spoilers. Please Read & Review


_A/N: Well, everyone is probably wondering where the new GOD is. I can't tell you that, there is a long explanation as to why it has taken so long, but it is forthcoming. I cannot stress that enough. I've been having some hardcore writer's block, and, as I have said in the past, I normally can get over writer's block by stopping for a little while and write something else. So...this is why we have this!_

_This is an idea that popped into my head a while back, a "What If" story I decided to run with it and have fun, writing this one-shot. Oddly, when I started planning and writing this, it started turning into a cut and clear Ven/Aqua fic. I'm not a proponent of that pairing, but the story sort of got away from me and I'll deal with the end results. And I know I changed a few key elements around, but, so what, this is fan-fiction people!_

_Minor to moderate Birth By Sleep spoilers are present in this story, so read at your discretion. Also, I have a new poll on my main page, which you should check out, and I've also opened up a Twitter account and Facebook group, both of which you get to via links on my profile. I really hope you guys all come and join!_

_Otherwise, enjoy the story._

* * *

**Vainglorious Waters**

-A Birth By Sleep One-Shot-

The ethereal blue light of Kingdom Hearts shone down upon the barren landscape.

He couldn't help but wonder, how could the moon-like object look so serene, when this graveyard they stood – that the moon hovered over – was such a maelstrom of chaos and violence? A true battleground...

Ventus tried to will himself to move, but he just couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, he was unable to get his body to move around, more than tilting his head or closing his eyes. He was utterly trapped with in his own armour and the icy casing Master Xehanort had struck him with.

Despite the fact that he knew he couldn't move under the crushing, freezing weight, he still struggled in desperation. He could hear it, see it, and he hated that he couldn't help her. Aqua was doing battle with the mysterious man dressed in a uniform he had seen on the Radiant Garden – Braig. Aqua was fighting with all of her strength, all of her will, furious at the stranger and his sudden appearance. Ven had never seen his longtime friend as angry as she had been when Braig had insulted him and Terra. The calm, serene nature of Aqua broke way to a furious storm, howling and raging and focusing all that wrath on Braig.

Despite Aqua's desire to finish Braig, the fight had been going on for some time, somewhat of a stalemate as Braig continued to move away from Aqua. Ven knew that if he was able to move, the two of them would have finished him by now, and they could go on to help Terra. He tried again, his body vibrating through sheer force of will, trying to move his armoured fingers beneath the ice. For a second, it looked like the digits were able to shake off the thick sheet of ice, but no. His body gave out, his strength sapped, and all he could do was wait and watch and hope Aqua and Terra were okay.

All he could ever do was wait on the sidelines.

He wished he could be strong like Terra. Like Aqua.

A sharp, steely sound, reverberated throughout the plateau, causing Ven to turn his head. His heart was elated when he saw Aqua, standing triumphantly before Braig, who was exhausted, a look of defeat on his face.

With a weary smile, Braig said to Aqua, "I keep forgetting – don't mess with Keyblade wielders." He gasped for breath. Aqua just stared at the man with eyes of steely resolve. "But you know what? That just means I made the right choice!" Aqua began to charge forward at Braig again, but he just held his ground, not afraid in the least. "Well... he wanted me to buy him some time, and I'd say he got it."

At that comment, Braig ran away, back to wherever he had mysteriously appeared from, leaving Aqua mystified with his final statement.

"Wha?" Aqua stopped charging in puzzlement, but the comment was soon pushed from her mind. "Ven!" She gasped in realization, turning to her downed friend who was still trying to free himself from the ice.

Aqua began to approach her friend, but Ven saw what was approaching her. Vanitas – the boy in the mask – was diving down from the cliff face, dead set on the unassuming Aqua. "Aqua!" He called back to her. She didn't take it as a warning, just a confirmation of her earlier call. He began to struggle even harder, to no avail, as Vanitas came closer and closer to Aqua. The dark Keyblade warrior flipped in midair, now right-side up. He raised his Keyblade high above his head, ready to strike Aqua down, coming closer and closer and...

"Aqua! Look out!"

Ven's scream came at the last possible moment, as Aqua realized what was up. She stopped, turning around to see the diving enemy. With only inches to spare, Aqua raised her Keyblade to block Vanitas's own strike, the slash still causing her to fly away, though she recovered shortly after that.

"That was impressive," Vanitas said, flatly. "You've gotten pretty strong." Aqua got back to her feet, Keyblade at the ready, standing in between the dark warrior and Ventus.

"I won't let you do anything to Ventus!" Aqua told Vanitas in defiance. "I know you need him to form your... X-Blade."

"'Ventus'?" Vanitas repeated, chuckling darkly. "I'm done playing with that kid. You though..." Even though his facial features were obscured by his mask, Aqua could feel Vanitas's gaze fall upon her, appraising her every movement and every inch of her body. It cause the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. "I think I might have been too hasty on my decision to throw you away. You might be of more use than the kid..."

"Shut up!" Aqua barked at the warrior. "I don't care about any of that..." She uttered those words even though she didn't entirely know what Vanitas had planned. "I will stop you. This ends here, Vanitas!"

Vanitas drew his Keyblade and entered his stance. "That's what I like to hear! Now, come! Stop me if you can!" Aqua answered the call to battle, shouting a battle cry and meeting the charging Vanitas. With a mighty swing, both Keyblades collided, causing a shockwave to erupt throughout this area of the Graveyard.

"Aqua!" Ven began to struggle again, with every fibre of his being, trying to break free from his icy prison. Whether he could have or not is an unanswered question, as the shockwave turned into a huge gale, picking up the prone boy and tossing him over the cliff. "Aaaaah!" Before he could do anything, Ven collided up against a rocky wall with such force, that he was immediately overtaken by an endless darkness.

* * *

Fireballs rained down from the sky, bouncing off of Vanitas's body with brutal force. The explosions coming from the magic flames caused him to fly into the air, only to be met by Aqua. The blue-haired Keyblader teleported up to greet Vanitas with a slash of her Keyblade, striking him on the crown of his mask-helmet, and spiking him back to the ground.

An exhausted Aqua landed, catching her breath after the violent attack she had laid down on Vanitas. The masked boy in question had landed across the battlefield, skidding across the barren earth, knocked senseless by the furious Aqua. With Aqua taking a pause for breath, Vanitas managed to struggle up to his feet, only managed to get to a hunched over position.

"Now you've done it, Aqua." A dark aura began to form around Vanitas, as he slowly got back to his feet. He dismissed his Keyblade, as his dark glass mask began to dissolve, revealing his face. Pale, white skin, long, spiky hair as black as the night, and bright golden eyes, full of malice and wickedness. A psychotic smirk was plastered on his face.

Seeing his face for the first time, Aqua jumped back in shock, eyes as wide as saucers. His face was eerily familiar to her, in fact, she knew just who he looked like. "That boy... that boy from the islands..." She muttered to herself. The relation frightened her more than anything.

Vanitas made no mind to the side comment, slowly approaching Aqua with all the guile and menace of a predatory cat. "Now that my body is about to perish... you and I will join together!" The smile on his face widened into a kind of insane glee. "The X-Blade will be forged!"

"The X-Blade... But...I-I though you needed Ventus to form it?" She stepped back slightly, he fear getting the better of her. Vanitas's dark aura began to pulse even more.

Vanitas just smirked cruelly at the question. "Remember when I said 'It never hurts to have a back-up?' Well... consider this a promotion!" The darkness around Vanitas began to etch a circle on the ground, wrapping itself around Aqua and Vanitas, trapping the two of them within it's circumference. "You're light is very strong, and you yourself are even stronger than Ventus. I admit, this isn't ideal, but I'll take what want whichever way I can get." Suddenly, several Flood Unversed shot out from Vanitas's darkness, flying at Aqua and using their elastic bodies to wrap around her and anchor the shocked Aqua to the ground.

"The Unversed... come from you?" She exclaimed, gob-smacked at the turn of events.

Vanitas laughed evilly as more and more Unversed began to materialized behind him. "It happened when Ventus and I were split in two," he began to explain, constantly flashing his psychotic slasher smile. It didn't need to be said that Aqua found that smile to be the most unsettling thing she had ever seen in her life. "The negativity took the shape of these monsters. They are what I feel – a horde of fledgling emotions under my control. I released them into all the worlds I could, hoping to lure Ventus – and you – away from your home and isolate you from your Master. We needed to make you stronger, all of you, and the Unversed were the perfect opponents. And better yet," the Unversed Vanitas had summoned began to disappear into a motes of darkness, flowing right back into Vanitas. Eventually, only the Floods restraining Aqua remained. "No matter how many times you defeat them... their negativity flows right back into me." He resumed his approach of Aqua, his painfully slow, menacing approach that made her skin crawl. Now, it was Aqua's turn to struggle to no avail.

"You never stood a chance against us, Aqua.

"Now... to finish what I started. Our union will create the ultimate weapon – the X-Blade!"

"No!" Aqua protested fiercely, never stopping her attempts to break out of the bonds of the Floods. "I-I won't let you!"

"Now, come, Aqua..." Vanitas chuckled, the wolfish grin spreading wider and wider as he got closer. "I promise I'll be gentle. Who knows? You might even enjoy it."

Finally, Vanitas reached Aqua, standing only a few feet before her. When he arrived, a sphere of light began to form around Aqua and Vanitas, Vanitas vanishing within the all-consuming brightness. Aqua continued to struggle, screaming and crying out for Ven, trying her damnedest to break free and stop Vanitas. The sphere grew bigger and bigger, flashing brighter and brighter, as the ground around it began to crack and fissure. With one last scream from Aqua, the sphere condenses into a single point, before unleashing all of its energy, firing a large red ray of light that shot forth towards the sky, the tips of the rays lightly licking up against Kingdom Hearts, as if calling out towards it.

* * *

A blinding light began to cease, slowly withdrawing itself from Aqua's view, replaced by a kind of stagnant darkness. When she realized what had happened, she found herself floating down towards the station of her heart. She hadn't been here since she first received her Keyblade. She also noticed that her armour was gone, though that was not much of a concern to her. The real concern was that Vanitas's image stood opposite of hers on the station, as if he had invaded her like a virus!

She looked around the near-foreign space, trying to get her bearings, before she realized that she was not alone. The mask-less Vanitas was also present, floating down gracefully to meet her on the platform of her station.

"Even though you're body has been taken from you," the dark-side of Ven began, "You still resist. Your heart still resists." He hefted into the air a new Keyblade, what Aqua could only assume what was the X-Blade. "Our union was not finished." He looked at the blade despairingly. The hilt and guard of the X-Blade was formed from two Kingdom Keys – the most basic form of the Keyblade – which crossed one another, forming the main blade and a filigree pattern, both formed of a kind of ethereal glass. The legendary weapon was pitted and broken.

"Looks like you weren't a perfect candidate after all..." He continued. His tone was more mocking to Aqua than despairing on his situation. "The X-Blade should not stay broken like this. Join me now, and we can complete the X-Blade!" He glared at Aqua again. But this time, the blue-haired Keyblade Master did not flinch or fright. She stood her ground and summoned her Keyblade.

"I have a better idea." She countered, taking her stance. "How about I destroy the both of you!"

Vanitas only cackled in response to her defiant statement. "Don't be stupid. I am a part of Ventus's heart. His _fractured_ heart. My continued existence is the only thing keeping him from breaking completely. If you destroy me, then who knows what will happen to him?"

Aqua visibly flinched at the speech. This could just be an elaborate ruse, but...what if Vanitas was right? What if destroying him meant that Ven would... She couldn't live with herself if that happened. How could she explain that to Terra? How could she go on without Ven by her side?

Vanitas continued, gnawing at Aqua's fears. "So, what's it gonna be? Do you not have the heart to do me in? Or are you so selfish that you would sacrifice Ventus just so you can keep on living?"

"I..." She took another step back, afraid of what her heart would say. Vanitas only smiled at her, gleefully evil as he watched his opponent squirm. Had he won even before the first blow was struck? She was about to give in to her own self doubt and despair when Ven's own words entered her mind.

"_I'm asking you, as a friend... Just... put an end to me."_

Even before this horizon was crossed, Ven was willing to sacrifice himself so that Vanitas and Xehanort wouldn't accomplish their goals. Whatever it took, he was willing to do it. She always admired that about him. He was so brave... so selfless... so...

Even though she was in a life or death situation, she could feel a small blush creep along her cheeks.

Pushing "those" thoughts away from her mind, she focused on the matter at hand, taking her stance again, which took Vanitas back. "Ven is my... he's my friend! He trusts me!" Aqua declared boisterously, all of her doubt swept away. "And I know he would rather die than let someone like you exist, doing as he pleased. Whatever it takes. Anything to save myself and Terra _and_ Ven!"

"Hmph," Vanitas rolled his eyes in disgust and boredom. "It's always friends with you guys, isn't it?"

"At least I have friends!" She shouted Vanitas down. "You underestimate the power loved ones can have on a person. Our hearts have been connected in a way that you can never understand, and that makes us stronger than you could ever hope to be!" Almost instinctively, she gripped her Wayfinder charm, focusing on it, feeling Terra and Ven, wherever they were. "My friends are my strength, just as I am theirs!"

* * *

"_I'm asking you, as a friend... Just... put an end to me."_

Ven, still unconscious from colliding with the cliff, remembered his own words clearly. And, now, he was regretting them. Not because he was getting cold feet about offering himself as a martyr. He was still more than willing to do so. No...it was because he realized that the request was selfish. He didn't consider how Aqua and Terra would feel about giving up their friend. Especially Aqua. Before... Ven had never been very true to his feelings with Aqua. He would always tell himself that she was just a big sister to him. The truth was...she wasn't. He had a crush on her ever since he first met her, got to know her as a person. That crush continued to grow and grow over time, until Ven could call it certifiably call it... 'love'...or, at least intense like. Whatever the case, what Ven felt towards Aqua was more than just a friendship, it was much stronger than that.

The problem was, he didn't know how she felt. Their relationship was...odd, to say the least. They were the best of friends, but, at the same time, they were like brother and sister, and, again, they were also like a student and a teacher, Aqua having taught Ven everything he knew about magic. Ven was just a little kid. For the longest time, he was certain that Aqua didn't see him in that light. He was content with not know, because asking would just stir too much up. But now, being face-to-face with imminent death, he wanted to know. He needed to know. He needed to tell her, regardless of the consequences.

"I want to live... I want to be with Aqua."

* * *

Waking up with a start, Ven was glad to see the smiling face of Mickey Mouse looking down on him.

"Gosh, I'm glad you're alright, Ven!" He greeted.

Ven smiled, before he realized what had happened. He sat up with a start and gasped. "Aqua?" Leaping to his feet, Ven ran back up the plateau were Aqua and Vanitas were dueling, Mickey following at his heels. When Ven made it up the short hill, the weight of the world was lifted from his heart: Aqua was okay, and Vanitas was nowhere in sight. She was standing in a daze almost, with a weird Keyblade in her hand. Ven didn't register either of those facts, but Mickey did...

"Aqua! You're safe!" Ven smiled as he ran up to his friend. Aqua's face was down, staring at the earth. "Hey..." He started, hesitantly, "Listen, there's something I want to tell you. I-"

Ven was cut short when Aqua looked up, staring right at Ventus. Her beautiful blue eyes had been replaced with malign golden orbs, and the normally serene and pleasant countenance of her face was replaced by a dark, grim slasher smile. Before Ven could react, "Aqua" reared back with her Keyblade, aiming the tip right at his heart...

_CLANG!_

Only millimetres away from piercing Ven, the strange Keyblade was batted aside by Mickey and his Star Seeker. The young apprentice took his stance next to Ven, glaring at the golden-eyed "Aqua". "That's not Aqua!" He declared with a fierce glare aimed at the imposter.

"No... I am not Aqua." The fake Aqua's voice was... just bizarre. A mash-up of various voices and tones. Ven could hear Aqua's regular voice in there, but the caring and calm tone was replace by a dark, sadistic cheer. The voice was also reverberating with an evil, undulating trill. But the worse part of it all, was that underneath all of that, Ven could hear Vanitas's voice!

A haze of darkness surrounded Aqua, as her Keyblade Armour was replaced by the same black and red bodysuit Vanitas wore. If Ventus wasn't utterly terrified at the sight, he would be blushing and averting his gaze at how the bodysuit snuggly fit to all the contours of Aqua's body.

The Aqua-Vanitas stood at full height, seemingly unperturbed by the gender change, and gazed at Ven and Mickey. Ven was absolutely sickened to see Aqua's heavenly face contorted into... _that_. This wasn't even Aqua, he wanted to scream, it was just a dark parody. With his prey in shock Aqua-Vanitas continued on, "I have taken her body for my own, little Ventus, as I shall soon take her heart. And this – this X-Blade," He raised the weapon into the air, "With it I will open the door – one that leads to all worlds. Then, Keyblade-bearing warriors will flock here from each and every one of them, to battle for the light within Kingdom Hearts!" For once, the look on the Aqua-Vanitas's face changed from psychotic delight to reverence, as he stared at Kingdom Hearts. "And just like the legend says, the Keyblade War will begin!"

Finally getting his nerve back, Ven summoned his own Keyblade and stared down his possessed friend. "Shut up!" He roared in fury, angrier than he had ever been. "I'm sick of your nonsense. It ends here, Vanitas. I won't let you exist any longer!"

The Aqua-Vanitas just chuckled at the remark. The sound sent a chill down Ven's spine. "Really? You're really gonna put an end to me, you idiot?" Ven continued to shoot daggers at the fiend, and he just laughed some more. How are you going to defeat me without hurting your precious friend," he mocked.

Ven didn't bat an eye. "If that X-Blade was formed from the two of you combining, then destroying it should split you right back apart."

Aqua-Vanitas regarded Ven. Now that it was Aqua's body staring at him, Ven found the gaze even more disturbing. As if it had taken on a more twisted and perverted feel. "Well, aren't you a smart one. But, lemme just tell you, if you were to destroy me – which isn't possible – then you'll end up destroying the other half of your heart. You'll never be complete, again! You'll probably cease to exist, too!"

His resolve never wavering under the heady golden glare, Ven simply drew his Wayfinder and showed it to the Aqua-Vanitas combinant. "I don't care... I don't care what happens to me! I won't let you take Aqua from me!"

* * *

With a mighty swing, Aqua managed to break Vanitas's guard, opening him up for a follow-up attack. The blow to Vanitas's gut proved to be the adequate solution, as it sent Vanitas down on his back, spread eagle and defenceless. Following another long, tiring battle, Aqua was so close to delivering the death-blow. She approached Vanitas, raised her Keyblade over him, swung down, and...

"You can't do it, huh?"

Her weapon had stopped, only inches away from hitting the dark warrior. She had balked. Vanitas didn't even give her a chance to respond, blasting her with a pulse of dark energy, before bounding to his feet. The blast threw Aqua across the station, her Keyblade and Wayfinder flying away from his grip as she landed.

"Pathetic!" Vanitas spat. She stalked towards her, X-Blade at the ready. "Maybe I did make the right choice after all. Ventus seems to have a bit more fight in him than a doormat like you..."

"Don't call her that!"

Following a flash of light from the Wayfinder, Ven's voice ringed throughout the station, surprising both Vanitas and Aqua. Blooming out from the charm was a glowing, ephemeral vision of Ven, facing Aqua with a warm smile on her face.

"Come on, Aqua. I thought you could do better than that."

"Ven..." She gasped, getting to her knees, Vanitas apparently frozen due to the presence of Ventus. The world seemed to melt away, leaving only the two friends. "What are you doing here?"

"You said it yourself, our hearts are connected. In ways no one else can understand. Now... are you gonna stand back up and defeat him?"

Aqua gasped at the request. "But...Ven, if I do that..."

"I know, Aqua. But I want you to do it. I told you, if it comes to it, you'll have to finish me."

"...I can't do it."

"Yes you can." Ven replied, kneeling down next to Aqua, placing an arm on her shoulder. "You can. I'm fighting for you back in the real world. Even though I know defeating Vanitas means killing me. I'm fighting for you...so you can fight for me too!"

Aqua still looked confused and apprehensive. "But...what will happen to you? Are you really willing to go through with it?"

"Yes! If it means saving you and defeating Vanitas, then I will do it! A thousand times, without hesitation!" Suddenly, with no warning, Ven brought Aqua into a tight hug. The sign of affection shocked Aqua, the two's feelings for each other having always been expressed silently.

"I love you, Aqua."

And, with that, Ven vanished, and the world returned. Along with a frustrated Vanitas.

"...I will fight for you, Ven."

"What?" Vanitas questioned, waving the X-Blade at Aqua. "What are you babbling about now?"

Snapping out of her daze, Aqua stood up, taking up a powerful, defiant stance and pointing her own Keyblade at Vanitas.

Vanitas looked amused at the sight. "Oh... so you're gonna try and play hero? As if. Just lie down and accept your fate."

"Never!" Swinging her Keyblade, Aqua fired a powerful pulse of light at the unsuspecting Vanitas. With no time to dodge or block, the blast hit him square in the chest, causing him to fly backwards and forcing the X-Blade to fly from his hands. As he flew backwards, he saw Aqua leap into the air, her eyes dead-set on the X-Blade alone

"N-no! Stop! You can't!" Vanitas called out, feebly clawing the air, trying to beckon the incomplete X-Blade to his hands.

Aqua paid the pathetic display of powerlessness no mind, as she continued on her course, flying through the air and slashing her own Keyblade downwards. Her own blade made contact with the filigree of the X-Blade, and instantly broke it, shattering the weapon into an infinitesimal amount of fragments. Vanitas screamed bloody murder as the weapon he sought after was destroyed.

His scream was silenced by a burst of all-engulfing darkness.

* * *

Ventus was thrown to the ground, hard.

"Do you see the futility of your actions, Ventus?" Aqua-Vanitas gloated. The battle between the fusion and Mickey and Ven had quickly turned into a one-sided curb stomp, with Aqua-Vanitas just throwing the two around like rag-dolls. "With the X-Blade in hand, I am unstoppable!" He cackled. Ven felt his stomach contort as he heard Aqua's voice make that kind of sound. Ven tried to make it to his feet, Keyblade and Wayfinder both still in hand. "Why don't you just give up? Face it, you've lost your friend. She's never coming back to you!"

"I won't face it!" Ven screamed, still trying his hardest to stand and face his possessed friend. "No matter what happens, or what the cost, I will defeat you. I won't let you hurt Aqua anymore!" Reacting to Ven's own heart, the Wayfinder charm began to glow with a divine light.

Vanitas-Aqua just laughed again. "It still amazes me how stupid you are. Don't you get it? I don't need to defeat you, I just need to conquer Aqua's heart and this body will be mine – forever! No matter what you do, it won't matter, and you're friend is too weak to stop me from taking this body."

"_I will fight for you, Ven."_

The words briefly echoed through Ven's mind, leaving him a little floundered. It was Aqua. The real Aqua! The woman he idolized and cared for more than anything. She hadn't given up...

"I thought I told you to shut up, Vanitas." Ven finally got back to his feet. Both his Wayfinder and Keyblader were shining with an unfathomably believable bright light. "Aqua hasn't given up. She's still fighting. She's fighting for me, so I'll fight for her! Together, we will defeat you!" Glowing Keyblade a the ready, Ven charged his adversary and possessed friend, determined to finish this entirely.

"Keeping dreaming, you fool!" Vanitas snarled, swinging the X-Blade in response, the two weapons colliding with a massive shockwave. Their weapons locked together, the two struggled against one another for leverage, drawing sparks and energy from the two swords. Their eyes met, Aqua-Vanitas's eyes full of the same sadistic, perverse cheer while Ven's was full of an unbreakable steely resolve. For a seemingly endless amount of time the two warriors stayed locked up, neither budging an inch, until, finally, a crack rung throughout the air. Ven's Keyblade had drawn a small, hairline crack along the X-Blade, which soon spread across the entire weapon!

"Wha...NO!" Ven smiled at the shock on Aqua-Vanitas's face. With one final push, Ven's Keyblade cleaved the X-Blade straight in two, destroying it utterly.

And, as the entire area was swallowed by an unending silence, a blast of light erupted from the shattered X-Blade, engulfing everything in its way.

Simultaneously, the X-Blade was destroyed within and without, by both Aqua and Ventus. But what may come of the two heroes is still unanswered. The two were thrown from the Keyblade Graveyard, and into the Lanes Between, protected by their armour. And, for now, they wait in the Lanes, floating serenely, side-by-side, hand-in-hand.

Still, the two had paid the price. Though the X-Blade was gone, Vanitas was exorcised from Aqua, and utterly destroyed in the process, Ven had fallen into a coma. Whether this was because Vanitas was gone or maybe the blast that destroyed the X-Blade in the Graveyard had sent his heart to some far-flung place, who can say? Aqua, too, had yet to waken, and maybe she too would suffer a similar fate to Ventus.

Regardless of these questions, if this was to be their ultimate fate – alone but for each other, trapped in serene space, hand-in-hand together – then Ventus and Aqua would both agree it is a heavenly fate.


End file.
